A number of hydroxylated derivatives of indolizidine and pyrrolizidine have been reported in the literature. For the most part, these compounds have been isolated from natural sources and the best known compound of this type is castanospermine which can also be named as [1S(.alpha.,6.beta.,7.alpha.,8.beta., 8a.beta.)]-octahydro-1,6,7,8-indolizinetetrol. Pyrrolizidines having a carbon substituent (i.e., a hydroxymethyl substituent) have been reported previously [see Nash et al., Tet. Letters, 29(20), 2487 (1988); Nash et al., Tetrahedron, 44, 5959(1988)]but similarly substituted indolizidine and quinolizidines do not appear to have been described previously.